My Eyes On You

Obsessed

Two weeks went by and nothing happened. Leah found herself looking for him every opportunity that she could;

during history class, at lunch, walking through the halls.As desperately as she wanted to, she couldn‟t take action.It was Fall, and the temperatures were plummeting fast as the deciduous trees displayed growing variations of colors.

Leah‟s clothes were too tight and not warm enough for the stiff chill that was settling over the town. As puddles froze and frost emerged on the morning grass, her mother pulled out the trunks of winter clothing from the attic. Leah went to school in hushed anxiety, waiting for the

time that she could catch a glimpse of Brendan, wondering if this was going to be the day that something would

happen, something that might change everything.

She was waiting for the right time, the right setting, and she had been watching and listening with anticipation as the days and weeks went by. One day, she stopped abruptly when she saw him at his locker. Her heart was thudding in her chest. Swarms of kids pushed past her, nearly knocking her over, as she moved to hide behind a corner. For the first time in a long time, she began to have second thoughts. He was only a boy, she thought. Perhaps he really did not mean to

cause the harm that he did, after all. Feelings of compassion welled up inside her for him, the feelings that she had been trying so hard to deny. She pressed her eyes shut. This is nonsense, she thought. He killed the boy she loved, a boy who never deserved the humiliation and cruelty that Brendan had given him.

He had been an

innocent victim, and the criminal had just walked away,

unpunished. His locker now in full view, she made up her mind and scribbled the down the number and stuffed it into

her bookbag for later. Brendan would get his just deserts, that was for sure. Looking around to make sure no one had seen her, she hurried away and bounded down the hall.

The rest of the day, she felt dazed. She sat through class not really hearing what her teachers were saying, thinking mostly of what she was about to do, her excitement, and yet also fear, growing in intensity as the day wore on.

She rehearsed her intentions over and over, making sure that she had thought of every possible consideration.If she made a false move now, then she might never be able to pay Brendan back for the evil that he committed.She ran into her friends after school and pretended to be interested in their chatter, but really she was preoccupied with her plans. On the bus, she stared out the window and listened to the wheels turning on the road, lost in her dreams.

Her mother noticed a change in her. “Earth to Leah,”

Connie said.

Leah dropped her fork. “I‟m just not hungry,” she said quietly.

“Then you may go to your room.” She excused herself

and climbed up the stairs.

The next day, she followed him through the crowded halls of the school. Surreptitiously, she found out his

exact class schedule, room numbers,and names of his teachers.She didn‟t consider herself a stalker;that would have to mean that she was obsessed. In her mind, Brendan wasn‟t worth being obsessed about. She considered compiling information about him a necessity if she was going to go

about this the right way.

That afternoon, sitting in her kitchen, she found out his address and zip code. Looking further, she found out the name of his parents and brother and sisters. She found out his birthday, even his locker combination. She wrote these down in a special journal that she kept in her room, under her bed.

She became friends with his friends. She started talking with his ex-girlfriends. Casually, she found out bits and pieces of information under the guise that she just wanted to get to know him better. No one even gave it a second thought. Imagine their surprise when they found out he had been murdered by the friendly, curious girl who said she wanted to send him a birthday card.

By some stroke of luck, she found two people who were willing to let her listen in on their telephone conversations with him. They probably thought she was

madly in love with him, but she didn‟t care. She was getting what she wanted. More and more control. She grew restless.

Thumbing through an old King James Bible, she found the perfect scripture. It was from Leviticus: And your enemies shall rule over you.

She typed it up. The next day, she slipped it into his

locker.

It had been the first move, on her part.

Only time

would tell what the repercussions of her actions would be.

She trembled with an even greater anxiety than she had felt before, overcome with a chill that no heavy coat could warm. It was difficult for her to wait. She had the g*n in her closet—the means to commit the crime. But she knew she would not be fully satisfied if she did not make him suffer first. Brendan Caldwell deserved no second chances.

This was it. He was going to die.

Over the next few days, she sleepwalked through

school. She watched the clock, waiting for the brief

moments in between classes when she could catch another glimpse of him. She felt unreal, as though she had one foot here on earth and the other in the afterlife.

She felt drugged, even though she wasn‟t on drugs.

She stopped doing her homework, and spent her hours after school holed up in her room, playing with his pictures,bits of information, and other toys having to do with Brendan Caldwell. Thinking that she was doing her

homework, her parents didn‟t disturb her.

Another two weeks went by. The nights were getting

blacker and colder. Again, nothing happened. Leah was bursting with anxiety. She had to know, at least, what

Brendan thought of all this. She had to strike, and she had to strike soon. She couldn‟t let time get the better of her and let this opportunity pass her by.

Her friends had no idea what was going on. They didn‟t know about the g*n and they certainly didn‟t know

what she was planning to do. And she wasn‟t about to tell them, either—they surely wouldn‟t understand. They were

good for sleepovers and mall visits, but not for homicidal confessions.

She found herself slipping another note into his

locker the next day. She was going to get a late penalty for class, but she hadn‟t wanted anyone to see her while she committed the act. Slipping into her seat, her friend

Christie scolded her for being late.

“Where were you?” she whispered.

“I had to go to the bathroom,” Leah lied.

Inside, her adrenaline was pumping in full force.

Every step she took, every little thing she did to belittle Brendan, was a rush better than any snort of cocaine or

injection of h****n she could put in her body. She was high on revenge; and it felt good.Christie fell into step beside her after class.

“Wanna go with me and Mona to the mall after school?” she asked.